Down Comes the Night (2021)
Down Comes the Night is a YA gothic fantasy with a bisexual MC and an m/f enemies to lovers romance. I rated it 3/5 stars.
🌟🌟🌟
What is it about?
A gorgeously gothic, deeply romantic YA debut fantasy about two enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion, with no escape from the monsters within.Honor your oath, destroy your country.Wren Southerland is the most talented healer in the Queen’s Guard, but her reckless actions have repeatedly put her on thin ice with her superiors. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate to cure his servant from a mysterious disease, she seizes the chance to prove herself.When she arrives at Colwick Hall, Wren realizes that nothing is what it seems. Particularly when she discovers her patient is actually Hal Cavendish, the sworn enemy of her kingdom.As the snowy mountains make it impossible to leave the estate, Wren and Hal grow closer as they uncover a sinister plot that could destroy everything they hold dear. But choosing love could doom both their kingdoms.Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched, gothic, romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.
On to the review
I am... disappointed. Turns out, this is not the book for me.
Listen, I heard gothic vibes and an enemies to lovers romance and I was automatically HOOKED. So when St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books granted my wish on NetGalley, I celebrated like it was Christmas. I enjoyed the first 20% immensely, but after that my enthusiasm waned.
First of all, I really love the worldbuilding. I know this is meant to be set in a Victorian-inspired universe but it gives me early 20th century Europe in anime vibes. A war reminiscent of WWI, gaslamp fantasy elements, lavish nobles and war-torn countries and wow. Exquisite.
However, my biggest concern is that I enjoyed the initial doomed f/f romance more than the main m/f one. Una is Wren's best friend and commanding officer, and their forbidden romance was the perfect mix of tragic and swoonworthy. I don't see this situation in a lot of YA fantasy, so I was immediately hooked. Unfortunately, they can't be together, and soon Wren is whisked away into a manor in another country, and there she meets an enemy she's previously warred with on the battlefield... Hal Cavendish.
This is probably my favorite instance of bisexual MC rep in YA fantasy. The fact that Wren has such clear emotional (and physical) attractions to male and female characters... That Una is a major part in her life, and not just a dead ex or some random girl she slept with... I don't know. I really appreciate it.
The moment we hit the 20% mark, it becomes a different story entirely: a more gothic one that reflects the summary. A spooky house, another forbidden romance, a murder mystery... Sounds excellent on paper. Sadly, I was bored.
Saft has a tendency to over-write. The pacing is already off at times, but her insistence on describing every little detail just made it worse. I know that's a staple of the Gothic genre but I felt like a lot of it was unnecessary, boring, and didn't even contribute to the spookiness. Also, meh, the Wren and Hal romance lacked chemistry, especially after Una.
I DNFed this before I even reached the halfway point. It's not you, book, it's me. Maybe Mexican Gothic has set my standards too high.
Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for granting my wish and providing me with a free e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2 comments
Love you sharing Frankie. Thanks Pinoy Teleserye 2021.
ReplyDeleteHola, bienvenido a Doramasqueen Aquí puedes ver todos los dramas españoles en alta calidad de video.Dormamasmp4 le proporcionará el mejor servicio de video de calidad. en espanol
ReplyDelete